With voluntary benefits, you’re placing your company’s stamp of approval on a third party. They may be free or cheap, but if you’re not careful they could damage employee engagement.

Perception matters a great deal to employees. Besides questionable vendors, there’s also the risk of appearing to be trying too hard, or of skimping on employer-paid benefits.

Communication is Going to be a Nightmare

We’re big proponents of relying on your vendors, but they’re not going to be able to save you the messes caused by a huge laundry list of benefits.

Eventually, it’s going to be you stuck trying to explain the options to everyone.

According to the IFEBP, 80% of organizations report low benefits knowledge due to participants not opening/reading materials.

Imagine the open enrollment meetings.

“Let’s take a 15 minute break, then we’ll plow through another four hour block of vendor presentations.”

On the bright side, carrying around a thick benefits manual could make for an effective component of a health and wellness program.

Someone Still has to Administer Those Benefits

Compliance. Performance. Payroll deduction. Taxation.

59% of employers are overwhelmed by the task of managing benefits, according to a Guardian Life study.

Even if you have a dedicated benefits staff, throwing in even another five benefit options would prove challenging. Good luck going beyond that.

This is where “free” voluntary benefits suddenly become costly. They still require time and effort that could be best directed elsewhere.

Get Picky

It’s tempting to go all-in on voluntary benefits. They’re attractive to executives because of the low price tag (though your CFO probably knows better). And they’re certainly an easy way to help employees get the specific services and benefits they need at a group-subsidized rate.

But there’s a bigger cost.

Too many benefits will be taxing to your staff and confusing to your employees.

They put you at risk of an unclear employee value proposition, as well as create relationships with inattentive vendors.

You’ll never be able to please everyone. So don’t even try!

Voluntary benefits are best reserved to enhance your core benefits and help employees deal with specific situations, like disability or life insurance.

Carefully curate a list that fits the needs of your workforce, provided by reliable, attentive vendors who know how to show a clear value proposition.